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I've never found anything natural that works for anxiety. Valerian MAY help a little, but I think the body gets used to it.
Valerian works pretty well for me, but I don't need it daily, so I can't speak to acclimation. We also use kava kava, GABA, magnesium (though I can't use that now due to drug interaction), and calcium.
For ADD symptoms, any of the above, plus DMAE and ginkgo for mental focus. The dietary changes mentioned above are likely beneficial; it all depends on your body's particular sensitivities. My body malfunctions when I eat wheat, so I avoid it as a general case. Potatoes are even worse. Unfortunately, I love them both, so they are my reminder meals as to why I'm eating low-carb.
I feel really sad when I heard people depending on meds for their efficiency. Well I've something very effective for you all who have anxiety and attention disorders. I've already tested it and its quite effective.
This is known as super brain yoga. Moderator cut: need at least 10 other posts to make specific recommendations
Last edited by SouthernBelleInUtah; 10-13-2011 at 10:42 PM..
Valerian works pretty well for me, but I don't need it daily, so I can't speak to acclimation. We also use kava kava, GABA, magnesium (though I can't use that now due to drug interaction), and calcium.
EM, can you take the Mg at a different time of day? I take my Ca/Mg/Zinc at bedtime and it helps me sleep better. I take my meds in the morning.
When I was a teenager I had ADD took aderal. Made me feel very speedy and speed totally changes my personality as well, just didn't like it.
Now years down the road after college and I'm working a job below my abilities mainly because it doesn't require focus I feel like I'm going to go crazy sitting 8 hours at a desk starting at excel sheets which was my job before I took my now slacker job.
I was considering getting back on ADD meds but really dont wanna be dependent on speed. Wondering if there's any natural remedies for ADD.
Also looking for something for anxiety. Anyone tried taking passionflower?
Moods are signals from our brains to pay attention to the circumstances of our lives. Maybe your anxiety is simply signaling your unhappiness in your job and is prompting you to make changes. When you're happy, you won't be anxious.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rfr69
When I was a teenager I had ADD took aderal. Made me feel very speedy and speed totally changes my personality as well, just didn't like it.
Now years down the road after college and I'm working a job below my abilities mainly because it doesn't require focus I feel like I'm going to go crazy sitting 8 hours at a desk starting at excel sheets which was my job before I took my now slacker job.
I was considering getting back on ADD meds but really dont wanna be dependent on speed. Wondering if there's any natural remedies for ADD.
Also looking for something for anxiety. Anyone tried taking passionflower?
I have a very similar situation, similar symptoms and a similar outlook.
You are not going to find a natural remedy that is as effective in the same way as focalin, adderall, ritalin or other meds.
What you can do is ensure that you are getting enough exercise (I have to significantly stress my body with cardio and resistance training at least three times per week or my symptoms worsen), you can ensure that you are getting enough sleep (if I frequently stay up late and get up early that aggravates my symptoms), you can quit coffee (if that's a crutch you lean on - easier said than done, but try cutting down to one cup of black tea per day and only before lunch; this makes a big difference for me) and you can clean up your diet (I know this sounds hokey and it may not have an effect on you at all, but consider cutting wheat out of you diet).
Another option that is unrealistic for many but that may be the single biggest factor in your perception of yourself as ADD: Change your career. If you are doing something that you love to do and that you find completely enthralling you are not going to have any need for meds. It's a pain in the backside that may require significant hardship, but that's probably the only really effective "natural" remedy.
Apart from that, adderall is not the only option. There are other drugs that are less "speedy" with lower overall impact on your personality and brain function that may be just as effective. I felt that being consciously aware of adderall's effects was itself a distraction. I never got that with, for example, focalin.
Also, jhaml post seems very hippy-dippy and ridiculous but yoga really does help some people. You may not be one of them, but it's probably worth investigating if you feel that your inability to focus is impacting your career and personal life.
Last edited by jimboburnsy; 10-14-2011 at 08:39 AM..
EM, can you take the Mg at a different time of day? I take my Ca/Mg/Zinc at bedtime and it helps me sleep better. I take my meds in the morning.
I can, but my meds are 12 hours apart, so taking it at bedtime is a bit problematic. No way I'm getting up in the middle of the night to take meds! The conflict is that calcium and magnesium reduce absorption of my medication.
Moods are signals from our brains to pay attention to the circumstances of our lives. Maybe your anxiety is simply signaling your unhappiness in your job and is prompting you to make changes. When you're happy, you won't be anxious.
OK, as I explained before, the anxiety is a side effect of the ADHD. When the ADHD symptoms are taken care of the anxiety will diminish. When you're constantly worried about what you left undone or the stupid thing you said at the party, you're going to be anxious. I think that if the OP can get her ADHD factors under control she won't need anything to treat anxiety or depression.
It's like this. I think most of us know the diff between depression and sadness, right? Depression is chemical and sadness is in response to something bad that happened. Well ADHD anxiety is like sadness.
I'll also mention that if the OP or anyone else on here can use some natural methods, you may still need meds but you could cut the dose in half, which would be better for your body. 20 mg adderall xr is the the starter dose but twice as much as I can handle so I need to use the supplements. Still, I'm fairly happy with it and feel no need to change. If I let the diet or exercise or sleep go though I get stupid again.
quote:"Depression is chemical and sadness is in response to something bad that happened."
Not really. All emotions are chemical- our bodies are made up of water and chemicals and some other stuff (!). Depression is not an abnormal condition, it can be a completely normal response to circumstances and it is usually self limiting.
All emotions can be dealt with without drugs of any kind if the individual is willing. Some people think they need or should take drugs for every emotion except happiness. Today's generation are probably the most heavily medicated in history.
quote:"Depression is chemical and sadness is in response to something bad that happened."
Not really. All emotions are chemical- our bodies are made up of water and chemicals and some other stuff (!). Depression is not an abnormal condition, it can be a completely normal response to circumstances and it is usually self limiting.
All emotions can be dealt with without drugs of any kind if the individual is willing. Some people think they need or should take drugs for every emotion except happiness. Today's generation are probably the most heavily medicated in history.
Holly, I was using a highly oversimplified example to show the difference between anxiety attacks, which seem to happen for no apparent reason, and anxiety that is caused by chaos in your life which you seem to be unable to control b/c you can't seem to keep track of all the details. I'm getting the feeling that you have to have ADHD to know what i"m talking about.
And we all agree that our society is overmedicated, and of course it is the most so in history b/c we live in a wealthy country (or we did anyway) and we have a huge pharma industry. That's why we're discussing ways to control it naturally. I still don't know it it's possible, but I'm willing to try anything to see and if not I'll still be better off than I was. I mean, how will I know if I don't have ADHD anymore? When all my bills get paid on time? LOL. Did I mention that I'm using sudoku puzzles to gauge the clearness of my brain? I'm not good at them but when I'm clear I can work them faster and finish more of them.
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The conflict is that calcium and magnesium reduce absorption of my medication.
